Two Years Difference
by VampiricTurnip
Summary: If Cloud had simply been born two years earlier, how much change could you expect from the story line. Entering into SOLDIER with a friend by his side, maybe things will go just a bit differently.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This story is slightly AU in that Cloud was born two years earlier than in the game. This will cause some drastic changes throughout the storyline.**

**DISCLAIMER: I in no way, shape, or form, own anything concerning the rights to Final Fantasy 7, Before Crisis, and Crisis Core. If I did, there would be a remake of 7 coming out at Christmas this year.**

**Two Years Difference**

Chapter One: Of Promises and Friends

Cloud Strife woke earlier than usual, feelings of excitement and nervousness causing butterflies to explode in his stomach. Today was the day that the delivery man passed through on his way to Costa del Sol from Rocket Town.

Stretching, Cloud rolled out bed and started doing his morning routine of push ups and sit ups before going on a small jog. SOLDIER members had to be in shape after all.

Finishing the small routine, the thirteen year old, blue eyed, spikey headed boy took a shower and gathered his things. As his mother was still asleep and would be when the driver came into Nibelheim and left, Cloud wrote a small message saying that he was leaving for Midgar and that he would write her a letter upon entry of the metropolis.

The truck arrived not soon after Cloud left the house. A brief explanation into what his goals were and the driver, Carl, was more than willing to let the boy come along. Not thirty minutes later and the two were on the road headed to Cosmos Canyon.

Carl, as it turned out, lived in Rocket Town and delivered supplies from Costa del Sol to the scientist working on the space program. He talked a lot about a man named Cid Highwind, who wanted to go to the moon, and while he was a good man, had a mouth as foul as a Marlboro.

He also spoke of his rare dealings with SOLDIER, which Cloud assumed was for his benefit, and the great strength and speed the men possessed.

The last leg of the trip, from Cosmos Canyon to Costa del Sol was spent mostly in silence. Cloud took the time to reflect on the days leading up to his departure and one incident in particular.

_**Flashback**_

_Cloud awoke to a small tapping sound on the window near his bed. Shaking himself awake, he noticed that one, his mother was still asleep across the room, and two that the silhouette of a small girl was standing outside his window._

_Curious as what any of the other kids might want with him this time of night, although he was the oldest by three years, he crept across the room and quietly slipped outside._

_He wasn't too shocked to note that it was Tifa, his ten year old neighbor; the girl was smart for her age and certainly bolder by far._

_Two years prior when she was eight, her mother had died due to illness and Tifa was convinced beyond all doubt that climbing the mountain to the peak would allow her to meet her mother again. Cloud having just decided for sure that SOLDIER was what he wanted to do had started training, mostly just running up the mountain to a certain point and back down to build up cardio._

_**Flashback within a flashback**_

_During a run Cloud noticed Tifa climbing and wondering what in the world the eight year old girl was doing, decided to follow her. He watched her make it halfway up the mountain, following closely behind and if the girl noticed his presence, she wasn't deterred by it. _

_A small rumbling noise alerted Cloud to the falling of rocks a little above them on the mountain and glancing up confirmed that yes there were boulders tumbling towards them from above. Without thinking Cloud rushed the short distance to Tifa and tackled her, slinging them away from the rocks but also causing them to tumble a short distance. _

_The two were a little roughed up but both were conscious and it was then that Cloud realized that Tifa had a silent stream of tears running down her cheeks._

"_Hey…" he hesitated a brief moment before trying again. "It's alright Tifa, you're safe."_

_The girl didn't respond but her crying lessened to a degree._

_Cloud kneeled in front of her and rubbed her hair a little, "How 'bout this," Cloud tried, "I can carry you back down and keep you safe if want, and if you ever want to come back I'll go with you to make sure everything's okay?"_

_Tifa nodded quickly and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck in a near chokehold. Grimacing slightly he shifted her to where his back was facing her and stood up picking her up with him. _

_The trip down the mountain, while a little tiring, was thankfully uneventful. That is until they reached the base where a middle aged man was stomping towards them. Cloud could almost feel the anger rolling off the man in waves. Nervously gulping, Cloud approached the man, who was Tifa's father._

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY DAUGHTER CLOUD STRIFE," the man nearly ripped the girl away from him._

"_Sir, I umm, I was running up the mountain, you know trying to train and I saw Tifa climbing and I followed her, wondering what she was doing, and then rocks fell and I pushed her out of the way and then I brought her back here and that's it, honest," he quickly sputtered breathing deeply._

_The outrage in Mr. Lockhart seemed to diminish over taken by worry, before he glanced the girl over. She had stopped crying at this point but had still remained quiet. _

"_Very well…," a pause, "but for the time being, till I get the rest of the story from Tifa, I don't want you anywhere near her. Do you understand?"_

_Another nervous gulp and choked out "yes sir," before the elder Lockhart turned away and retreated further into the village of Nibelheim._

_The story was eventually straightened out by the young Lockhart but even then her father was still cautious of Cloud._

_Ever since then the young girl had been enamored with the young Strife._

_**Present flashback**_

"_Hey Cloud," Tifa spoke almost hesitantly, "would you mind following me for a sec?"_

_A nod of the head and the ten year old trotted off to the well in the center of the village. _

_She stopped there, glancing down nervously before speaking._

"_You'll be leaving soon won't you… for SOLDIER I mean."_

"_Yep," a grin making its way on Cloud's face, "aiming to be one of the best, like Sephiroth." _

"_I believe it, but…" she trailed off shortly before finishing almost nervously, "can you make me a promise?" She looked up from the ground almost staring defiantly._

"_Well, that would depend, wouldn't," crossing his arms Cloud continued, "on what exactly you want me to promise."_

_Glancing back to the ground Tifa muttered something too quietly to hear._

"_I can't answer you if I can't hear you, you know."_

"_It's just that… when you become SOLDIER, and if I'm ever in trouble, will you rescue me. Like how you did on Mount Nibel?"_

_Ruffling the girls hair like he had two years ago, Cloud smiled kneeling down in front of her to look up into her eyes, "Tifa, I promise that, should you ever need my help; I'll be there for you."_

_**Present**_

"..Ey, hey kiddo, you there?" Cloud snapped back to reality watching Carl's hand wave back and forth in front of his face.

"Sa, sorry, jus thinkin," He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"S'ight," Carl gruff voice replied, "just thought you shud know that we'll be in Costa del Sol in a few minutes."

Cloud replied with a thanks before looking around the cab of the truck to make sure he still had everything.

The rest of the trip passed quickly and soon Cloud found himself at the resort of Costa del Sol.

Gaping in surprise at such a beautiful city, and having never seen the ocean before, Cloud almost missed Carl's wish for good luck. Answering in kind and giving the man his thanks, the young blond took off down the beach for a moment before starting to ask people where the Shinra troops were stationed.

It didn't take long for Cloud to locate the barracks, situated right next to the dock area with troopers wearing the Shinra blue milling around.

"Umm, Sir," walking up to the first trooper in sight Cloud had to actually repress a grin, "I'm looking to go to Junon to enlist with Shinra. Can you point me to who I should talk to?"

The soldier stared for a second appraising the younger before replying, "Sure, you just have to speak with the Captain. Here, I'll even take you to him."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Nodding the trooper about faced and walked back the way he came.

The Captain was a short man and well, that's really all Cloud knew about him. The helmet really covered all of his facial features. '_By Shiva I hope I never have to wear one of those_' Cloud thought to himself. The things were stupid looking, plain and simple.

"What can I do for you, son?" Well, at least he seemed nice, that's a start.

"Sir, I plan on enlisting in the Shinra Army under SOLDIER, and I read that for people on this continent are to report here."

"That would be correct. We actually have a room set aside for future recruits headed to Junon, and we will set you up with a passage on one of the supply ships headed to Junon. Though, I hope you don't mind sharing space, because we have one other applicant as well."

"Sir, not at all, and… thank you," quickly leaving the Captain's office, Cloud ambushed another trooper and convinced him to show him where the 'applicants', as the Captain called them, stayed.

Cloud opened the door ready to drop his knap sack on his bed and take a small power nap, when a kid, he guessed he was around his age, with black spikey hair leapt in front of grasped his hand.

"Hiya, my name's Zack, Zack Fair, and I'm from Gongaga, and I'm joining SOLDIER, huh, what about you, what's your name?" It took Cloud a couple of seconds to answer this Zack due to his sentences running together.

"Hello Zack, My name's Cloud Strife. I'm also joining SOLDIER, and I grew up in Nibelheim."

Zack snickered for a second before claiming Nibelheim to be backwater.

"Oh yeah, well you said you were from Gongaga, and if anything, that place is even more backwater Nibelheim." Cloud retorted crossing his arms and raising his chin.

Zack opened his mouth like he was going to say something but then closed it before nodding and trying again.

"Ya know, I think you're right, it is pretty backwater after all." He finished with a smile. At that the two simply started laughing before Zack pulled Cloud out of the buildings and into the resort to have some fun.

Cloud and Zack spent the next week in Costa del Sol before a supply ship left port. That one week was probably the most fun Cloud had ever had. Zack was easily as serious as we was about making it into SOLDIER, and on top of that he told jokes, did dumb things, and was all around just fun to hang out with.

Cloud never realized before, because his age difference, he didn't really get along well with the other children in Nibelheim. He always held himself apart as the eldest and there was simply a difference in interests. Zack though, he had the same interests, he was the same age, and while their personalities seemed to clash from time to time, it was all light hearted and fun.

**AN:**

**Thus marks the end of the first chapter. So please review if you get the time, and I only ask because I would like to know what you liked about the chapter, what you didn't, and any mistakes I made. I know it's a little short, right under the 2000 mark, but as I get better at writing I will be increasing the length of each chapter, especially once basic training starts. It'll start to flowin.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Also if you didn't read the AN above, The reason the well scene is different is because this is AU and Cloud was born two years earlier than in the original Final Fantasy 7, being two years older I think would've made a small difference with the Tifa climbing the mountain scene as you've seen and what that cause their relationship to change from the game. Also Zack is two years older than Cloud so with my addition it would put them in the same cadet program.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the number of reviews. It wasn't a lot, but for a first chapter just shy of 2k words, it was much more than I expected. Anyways thanks everyone who reviewed or added this story to you favorites, it defiantly helped me finish this chapter instead of blowing it off, and it certainly means a lot to me.**

**Mairath: Cloud's mother did know of him leaving in the morning and I'll have a flash back of the little going away moment that happened the night before he left. I didn't put it in the first chapter because I couldn't make it work without taking away from everything else. I might just make it an Omake and include it at the end of a random chapter.**

**Peaceful Dragon Rose: Thank you for the support.**

**Dark Hikari Twilight: Thank you very much, and I'm glad you think so.**

**Guest: Don't know your pen obviously but those were the actual thoughts that this fic was spawned from, I hope you come to like this fic the more chapters that are uploaded.**

**Irish-Brigid: Thanks for the support and yeah I don't have a beta. The detail you brought up is exactly the type of feedback I want because I don't always think of some small details that the story might need. I didn't really explain it well but Cloud is about six inches taller than Tifa. **

**Serendipital: Thanks for the advice, I'll defiantly keep it in mind from here on out, and I'm glad you find it interesting. Hopefully it remains so.**

**Yuna's Reincarnation-1: and now you don't have to! Glad you like it.**

**Also would you guys rather I answer like this or by PM?**

Two Year Difference

Chapter Two: Of Brooms and Instructors

The sun was just rising as Cloud Strife stared at the beach. The Shinra supply ship was finally leaving harbor on its way to Junon. It was eerie; he thought to himself, how something he hadn't ever really put any thought behind became such a big deal in the moment. His first time on a ship, on the ocean, leaving the only land he had ever walked upon for new ones. He sighed wistfully as Zack's gushing finally reached his ears.

"Oh my God, we're leaving finally. For Shinra and SOLDIER, it's really happening. Holy crap, pinch me." The raven headed boy could talk for days if Cloud let him, so said blond respected his friend's request and pinched him as hard as he could.

"OWW, what was that for spikey?" Zack took on a look of betrayal as he rubbed his tender arm.

"You asked for it," Cloud snickered.

"I didn't mean it though," Zack whined toeing the deck, "but anyways let's go find something to do."

Nodding, Cloud followed Zack into the cargo hold.

It seemed that they had been battling for hours and Zack was truly a tough opponent, swinging around his huge sword with great skill and accuracy. Cloud faked slowly losing the battle, and upon seeing his no doubt victory, Zack lowered his sword and spoke of how true awesomeness conquered all.

Cloud chose this moment to strike leaping forth with a furious flash of strikes; he easily had Zack on the defensive. Flipping his blade Cloud clashed it against Zack's disarming him before knocking him to the floor and placing the point of the blade against his throat.

"Surrender," Cloud breathed the question heavily.

"Never," Sticking his chin out, head held high, Zack stared defiantly into his eyes.

"Very well," Cloud muttered but before he could deliver the final blow a trooper walked in and started laughing outrageously.

Dropping his "blade" which was actually a broomstick, Cloud had the decency to actually blush while Zack leapt up.

"Hey, you can't just interrupt an amazingly awesome battle to the death for the glory of SOLDIER like that," he shook his fist at the trooper giving him an angry pout.

"Ha ha, oh, ha, forgive me SOLDIER ha First Class Fair ha ha, I meant nothing by it, please continue ha being bested by a broomstick ha ha ha." The trooper clutching his stomach in chuckles quickly left the two alone, probably to tell his buddies what he had just witnessed.

Picking back up his "blade", Zack gave Cloud an evil grin, "So spikey… round two, and this time I won't underestimate you."

The battles continued for most the day as there was little else to do. A few troopers had even dropped by to watch after having heard the epic tale of the broomstick duel from one of their comrades. They mainly placed bets and cheered for who they wanted to win, but despite a lot of support, Zack ended up beating Cloud more times than not.

The two boys, battered and bruised, limped off to the sleeping quarters as the sun had begun to set. The trip was only about a day so the ship should be docking at Junon sometime in the morning, and they wanted to be at least somewhat rested for the day to come.

As Zack weakly climbed into his bunk he turned to Cloud before groaning.

"Ug, I'm soooooo freckin sore," he stretched his battered body, "so what do you think training's gonna be like huh spikey?"

"Harsh, difficult and all that I guess," Cloud stretched his equally abused body before yawning, "you?"

"Nah, I think it'll be a breeze, what with our super fighting abilities."

"Uh huh, sure. Well, let's get some sleep before tomorrow."

"Sure thing Spikey." Zack muttered before the two quickly fell asleep.

The ship had pulled into Junon sometime in the early morning hours, and a trooper had woken the boys up with directions to the recruitment facility.

The two, after grabbing a bite to eat with what little gil the they had left, trekked off into the city in search of the recruitment office. The building was located in the military quarter of the city and was a rather large two story.

"So this is it huh," Zack said before opening the door. The first room had a counter with two employees working behind with the letters _in process_ written above it.

Cloud approached the one on the right, an elderly woman of small stature and mousey brown hair.

"Ma'am," Cloud spoke to catch her attention, "we would like to sign on with Shinra's military."

"The both of ya," she asked, her voice raspy, before sighing at Zack's nod.

"Very well," she handed the two a packet of paper, "fill these out and bring them back to me when you're done."

Nodding his acceptance, Cloud took both packets before handing one to Zack. The two then wondered over to some chairs before looking the paper over.

_Name:_

_Age:_

_Hair Color:_

_Eye Color:_

_Height:_

_Weight:_

_Place of Birth:_

And so the questions went for a few pages. Sighing Cloud started jotting down information onto the papers.

_Cloud Strife_

_13_

_Blond_

_Blue_

_4'5"_

_123lbs _

_Nibelheim_

_Etc._

_Etc._

At the end of the packet was a small questionnaire on Arithmetic, Logical problem solving, and the like.

Cloud answered the questions to the best of his knowledge, as not to say that his education was lacking, but everyone in Nibelheim was taught by their parents and not exactly everything was covered. Luckily Zack knew some things that he didn't and as his education was similar, Cloud knew some things that Zack didn't.

Working together, though not necessarily permitted, the two finished in no time. Before handing the packet back to the lady. She told them to stand by while she and her coworker looked over the packets.

The boy found their seats again and waited.

Cloud was nervous, though he didn't show it by much, just an occasional shift in his chair and glancing to the clock every so often. Zack, on the other hand, was twitching and fidgeting in his chair.

"Nervous," Cloud asked after about twenty minutes.

"Yeeeep, you," Zack asked back running his hands through his mane of spikey hair.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence after that for another thirty minutes before the lady called them back up.

"Here," she spoke, handing them back their packets now placed inside a folder with a larger group of blank documents and a sticker with their names on it, "place the sticker on your chest and walk through this door on my right. Down the hall you'll see a room with a sign that says 'Station One'. Go in there and give the folder to personnel working there."

Doing as they were told the two entered into the hallway looking for station one.

"Dang," Zack groaned looking down the hall and seeing different stations one through ten. "we have to go through all of these, awww man." The boy pouted and followed Cloud into the room marked station one and placed his packet on the counter alongside Cloud's.

This counter was run by a man in his forties or so with greying hair and glasses. He looked the two spikey headed youths over before checking over their packets. He jotted a few things down before telling them to move to station two.

"Okay, so maybe it won't be too bad after all," Zack hoped aloud before entering the second station, entitled medical and seeing the long line of other applicants.

Cloud couldn't help but snicker at Zack's groan of despair. They walked over to the counter and gave their packets over again before the slightly younger man than before ushered them to the line where they waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally after an hour and a half, Cloud and Zack along with five or so more applicants were called into the screening room.

A doctor was waiting inside with a clip board as he ordered them down to their underwear, which got another complaint from Zack, and told them to do various stretches before checking their height and weight. He wrote down the results into each person's packet before having them redress and take their packets back to the counter.

The man checked them over again before sending some people to station three and station four. Once they had left, Zack, Cloud, and a couple other applicants were told since they had no medical issues to go to station five.

Station five was an urination tests for drugs and enhancers. They were told to drink lots of water and whenever one of them had to pee, to see the counter where someone would escort them to relieve themselves into a cup.

On the way to station six, Zack complained loudly how his escort and been examining his stuff a little too closely. Cloud laughed at this as did a few of the other applicants.

Station six ended up being blood work to check for dieses and anomalies.

Station seven was hearing and sight.

Station eight was a test of several factors where the total outcome was a percentage, one through ninety-nine, on how much better you did than the other applicants. Cloud ended up with a seventy-nine, while Zack ended up with a seventy-three.

After Cloud and Zack finished station eight; the applicants were sent to the mess hall for food. The food consisted of large subs filled with whatever you wanted and a drink.

Cloud ate his food mostly in silence as he listened to Zack gripe at one thing one minute before completely changing topic and griping at something else. Giving a nod here or there, Cloud frowned as he looked at some of the other applicants.

Noticing his friend's lack of attention, Zack waved his hand in front of Cloud's face.

"Hey spikey, what's up?"

Cloud turned his attention to Zack, noting the small look of concern he was giving him, "did you notice that most of these applicants are older than us?"

"Well yeah, you thinking that it will matter or somethin'?"

"Not really, well at least, I'm hoping it won't."

"Oh, I gotcha, but hey, don't sweat the small stuff spikey."

Giving his friend a nod, Cloud returned to food.

After lunch, a few of the applicants plus Cloud and Zack, were sent to station nine. Zack groaned at another line to be waited through.

After an hour of waiting, Zack was called up, and Cloud watched him go giving him a nod and patiently waited for his turn. A few minutes later and Cloud too was called into an office to speak with a Shinra representative.

"So young man," the representative started, "I'm here to discuss with you what it is you would like to do while inside Shinra, such as jobs, duties, and special training programs."

"I want to be in the military with SOLDIER training in my contract. If I am unable to get into SOLDIER I do understand that I will be forced to serve in the infantry and I am fine with these conditions."

"Well, you obviously know what you want in life huh Mr. Strife, but do you have any questions or concerns that you would like answered at this time?"

"No sir." The man took a moment to write some information down in Cloud's packet before standing up and shaking Cloud's hand.

"Very well, Mr. Strife, I'll have your contract typed up momentarily but in the meantime can wait back out in the lobby."

Cloud quickly nodded before leaving the office where Zack was also waiting.

They made small talk about what they wanted in their contracts, which ended up being very similar, before being called back in and signing the very object of their discussion. They were then ushered to station ten, where they received some equipment and uniforms inside a ruck sack.

The successful applicants were then taken to dinner before boarding a bus which took them deeper into the military quarter of Junon.

They arrived some twenty minutes later at a large complex with a few men dressed in a blue colored armor waited for them to climb off.

The men separated the newly instated troopers into groups of twenty, Zack and Cloud managing to be in the same one, each headed by two men in the blue armor. The two men then started explaining formations, marching, proper wear of uniform, and expected duties. Once the troopers were informed they were assembled into a platoon formation.

"ATTTEN-CHUN," the troopers, some more gracefully than others, snapped to the position of attention, heels together, feet at a 45 degree angle, standing straight, head up, and hands clasped lightly into fist by their side.

"My name," One of the men started, "is SOLDIER Third Class Kunsel. You will refer to me and my counterpart as Drill Sergeant. Is this understood?"

A chorus of "YES DRILL SERGEANT," filled the air.

Training had begun.

**So this chapter has a lot of processing stuff and etc. and it seems boring but I wanted it to be similar to what I went through when I joined the military. MEPS is what it's actually called and is really is nightmarish. A whole day of hurry up and wait.**

**Anyways next chapter is where the training will start and it should pick up on content too. I do wanna ask though whether you guys want me to keep the chapters and the update schedule the same or lengthen the chapters and update every two weeks?**

**Also if there are any particular scenes you guys would like to see, send me a PM explaining what you want and I'll do my best to add it in.**

**As always read and please review, but more importantly enjoy the story. (Criticism is welcome by the way.)**


	3. Chapter 3

Two Year Difference

Chapter 3: Of Sweat and Blood

"This complex is the only thing you will see for the next two months. In other words, come to enjoy it, or this will be a long two months." Kunsel paused here before speaking to his fellow SOLDIER, "Alright, I'm going to give to some marching commands and lead you into your platoon's barracks. There you will change into your uniform and I'll give you further information as far as your schedule in the upcoming weeks."

The SOLDIER Third then proceeded to march the young men into the barracks, a small white room with ten bunk beds and wall lockers for each bed and a conjoined restroom. They were given ten minutes to dress in uniform and reassemble for inspection.

Cloud quickly pulled what he need from his rucksack and stripped to his boxers. Pulling the blue pants on, he slipped the blue shirt on before tucking them into the pants. The black boots came next with the bottom of the pants stuffed into the top before tying off and tucking in the laces. Then the armor was snapped into place along his chest and shoulders. Grabbing his helmet and ruck, he made his way over to Zack, who had simply dumped his ruck onto the floor and was struggling with his boots.

"Zack," Cloud shook the boy, "calm down man. You got this."

Smiling at his friend before nodding, Zack quickly put his boots on and attached his armor before joining Cloud near Kunsel.

Upon seeing the troopers assembled before him in various states of correct and incorrect uniforms, Kunsel cleared his throat.

"Alright, you guys made the time limit which is good, but not everyone was able to correctly put on the uniform. You still have three minutes left, so take this time to point out and help your comrades."

At the end of the three minutes, Kunsel checked everyone over noting that there were no more discrepancies he nodded before speaking again.

"Alright, now I need you to line up single fill in alphabetical order," the order was quickly followed with a few troopers asking names to make sure it was correct.

"Now you five are squad one, you five are squad two, squad three, and squad four. Remember this order because this is how you will form up in platoon formations from now on."

"With that taken care of, I need the youngest from each squad to step forward." Squad one was a boy with greyish hair maybe a little older than Cloud. Second squad was Zack, with third squad being another boy about their age with red curly hair. Forth squad, after a few questions determined Cloud to be the youngest, who stepped forward a little.

"Alright, so you four will be my squad leaders. You are the only ones permitted to approach me, and if one of your squad mates forgets this and speaks to me, he will be dropped alongside yourselves to learn this lesson. You will also be responsible for taking care of your squads and making sure that duties assigned to your squad is accomplished. Failing to do so will result in being stripped of leadership."

Kunsel paused for a brief moment to the troopers take this in before having them step back, this time, into the front of the squad.

"You will listen to your squad leaders as if they were me, as any order they give, will have come from me anyways."

"Now, I will go a little bit into the schedule before releasing you to do whatever until tomorrow. First thing is that in the morning, every morning at 0400 is wake up. 0430 is physical training, or PT, formation. The two weeks will be centered around PT and marching familiarization. The next two weeks will be focused on basic medical training and the gas chamber. Don't worry so much about that one; you will have masks for the most part and only briefly exposed to a nonlethal tear gas. After that you have two weeks of rifleman training with grenades thrown in somewhere. The final two weeks will be for testing on everything you learned, such as medical, PT, and marksmanship. Is this understood?"

"Yes Drill Sergeant!"

"Good, so lights out is at 2200 hours," Kunsel glanced down at his watch, "which it is now 2000 hours, so you have two hours to get acquainted before going to bed. This will be your only opportunity, but if you guys have questions and the like, I'll be here for another hour and feel free to ask anything."

Zack automatically took this opportunity to shout out a few. Which considering how long he had been quiet was long overdue.

"Drill Sergeant, after basic will we be given the opportunity to apply for SOLDIER ourselves?"

"Actually, only the five best trainees will be given the chance. Some of you are automatically invited to test so in total we can have, at best, seven members of this platoon apply."

"Can you tell us what the test involves," Cloud threw out standing beside Zack.

"The first test was already done, which involves testing your blood for tolerance to mako. The second test is endurance based where you have to go from doing five consecutive minutes of push ups, before swimming half a mile, and rucking with a 45lbs pack for ten miles; it's all endurance based so there is no time limit. If you don't give up you'll make it, and if you pass all of these you will be permitted to mako therapy and become a third class like myself."

The question went on like this for the remainder of the hour with Zack and Cloud mostly asking question pertaining to SOLDIER with a few other trainees adding in every now and then.

Kunsel excused himself at the end of the hour with a reminder for them to become better acquainted with their squad mates.

Cloud took the time to group up his squad and started asking a few questions, like names, ages, places of birth. The first member, and oldest at sixteen, was a taller boy with a much larger frame. His name was Alex.

Alex had long black hair and green eyes. Born in Midgar he talked a lot about the plate over the sectors and how he was glad to see the sun.

The second had short cropped brown hair and brown eyes named Lucas. He was fourteen and born in Junon.

The next was fifteen, named Jorge with spikey brown hair and grey eyes. He had a raspy voice which he said was due to being born in North Corel and being next to the mines.

The final member had platinum blond hair and silver eyes. His name was Trace, and he was also fifteen. He like Zack and Cloud was born in a backwater town, Mideel, and good naturedly joked with Cloud about the country side.

The squad took the remaining time to select bunks and lockers near each other. Emptying their rucksacks and storing everything properly inside, the team stripped of their uniforms and climbed into bed for the next day.

Cloud awoke the next morning and groggily rolled out of bed. The clock claimed it was 0400 and the lights were on, but he could hear Zack swearing to anyone that would listen that the clock was a lair and it was only 0200. Grabbing a towel and the issued shower kit, Cloud made his way to the connected restroom and got in line for the showers.

Quickly showering, he toweled off and redressed into his Shinra blues and reattached his armor before brushing his teeth. Ready to take on the day, he left the barracks and formed up with a few of his squad mates on the drill pad, a piece of concrete about fifty by fifty meters in between the four barracks.

The rest of the platoon came down shortly after and finished the formation. Standing at parade rest, the troopers waited on Kunsel and Gabriel, Kunsel's assistant SOLDIER Third Class.

Cloud watched him and the other SOLDIER Thirds walk up to their platoons before calling them to attention. A SOLDIER second came up shortly after and took attendance and sick call, not that anyone went on the first day. A few minutes later he released the Seconds to do PT.

Kunsel marched the platoon around the corner of their barracks where a small grass field waited innocently. Pull up bars spotted the field random, Cloud noticed before Kunsel ordered the troopers to space out arm's length away from each other.

"Today is gonna be a simple diagnostic to gauge where you guys are that. Afterwards I will decide what area's you are weakest in and improve upon that weakness."

He then pulled a stop watch from his pocket, "Alright everybody take up a push up position and when I say go, start knockin em out until I say stop… Ready… GO!"

Cloud instantly started. The weeks of training himself prior to enlisting showing its worth as he started at a moderate pace. _25, 26,27. _He noticed Zack out of the corner of his eyes blazing through push ups at a ridiculous rate. Not knowing for how long this would keep going, Cloud continued his moderate pace for a few more minutes.

_99, 100, 101, 102. _Sweat was trickling down his forehead at this point, but watching Zack continue to blaze through them inspired him to keep going. _151, 152. _Each motion sent liquid fire through his muscles. His arms protesting through every abusive movement, every breath felt like it was riping its way through his lungs. Even Zack had started to slow at this point.

At some point, drenched in sweat, Cloud developed tunnel vision. The only thing he could see was Zack straining his arms, continuing his motions. He refused to give up until Zack did, even if he was going considerably slower than him.

_189, 190, 191._ Spots dotted his vision, yet he continued, arms numb.

After what felt like an eternity Kunsel called out for everyone to do ten more and stand. Shaking his head to clear his vision, Cloud noticed that Zack, another boy with black hair, and him were the only ones that hadn't stopped all this time. With every last bit of will power Cloud grit his teeth and pushed through the final ten push ups putting him at a total of 223.

Pushing with his leaden arms, Cloud stood, tilted slightly to catch his wind. He glanced up to see Zack and the other boy give him a nod which he returned before turning his attention to Kunsel.

"Wow guys," the SOLDIER Third whistled, "that was impressive for the first day. I defiantly want to see the three of you after breakfast."

Cloud couldn't help but smile at the compliment from the SOLDIER and wonder what he what he wanted to see them for.

"Anyways, take a few minutes to stretch out your arms before we continue with sit ups."

Cloud almost screamed as he lifted his arms above his head. As agonizing as it was, the stretching put a small amount of vitality back in his arms.

"Okay Privates, same drill as before. Only this time it's sit ups… Ready… GO!"

Sit ups were relatively a breeze. Cloud could do sit ups for days with his smaller lighter body. He did notice a few of the other boys struggling, but only Lucas was struggling from his squad. He made a mental note to assist the boy afterwards and continued on with the almost mundane exercise.

Kunsel called them to a halt some time later. Jotting some notes on to a clip board, he told them to stretch again, and allotted a few minutes for the task.

"Now, hehehe, "a wicked smile forming on the SOLDIER's face, "everybody line up at the push up bars. For those of you who went above and beyond in the push ups… this is gonna suck… a lot.

Cloud could've cried.

"Just kiddin, you still have to do them, but only ten and you're done. Well, get to it."

Cloud, as squad leader, chose to go first and struggled to even do one. His arms were once again in mind numbing agony, but he pressed through nonetheless. A minute later Cloud dropped from the bars and almost smacked his face on the ground before watching his squad complete the exercise as well.

"Not bad everybody, not bad. "Kunsel gave the group a small clap before continuing, "Now form back up and lets go get some grub!"

Cloud watched with a horrid fascination as Zack demolished the food at breakfast. He could do nothing more than moan piteously, attempting to raise his spoon to his mouth. He chose cereal, because it was easier than anything else, but now he was sorely tempted to slam his face into it and eat it that way.

His squad was equally miserable, as was Zack's, though Zack himself seemed to be the only exception. Other than his animated babble, breakfast was a quiet affair.

Once they were finished, Kunsel pulled the three boys aside and told the platoon to march back to the barrack across the street, shower and change. He then turned his attention to the three before him.

"Okay, so are either of you three looking to get into SOLDIER?" The SOLDIER stared at the three intently for a few seconds before all three nodded their heads.

"Well I can tell you this. From what I saw today, the three of you would've destroyed the first two tests. Keep this up and I will defiantly recommend you for the SOLDIER program."

The three were then dismissed, with Cloud leaning that the other boy's name was West, to join the rest of the platoon.

Cloud spent the rest of the day in an exhaustion induced high, as Kunsel and Gabriel taught them a few more complicated marching forms. He was feeling great about what Kunsel had told them and could see his dream coming slightly closer.

It was 2000 hours when the platoon was released for personal time. With the rush of things going on, Cloud had forgotten to write his mother a letter as he had promised. Determined to get it done he grabbed some paper and a pen before setting to work.

_Mom,_

_Sorry I haven't written sooner. I know you're probably worried but I'm doing okay… a little sore but okay. I made a new friend and we get along really well. He talks a lot and has a lot of energy but he's really fun to hang out with. His name Is Zack and we're in the same platoon as well._

_Anyways, how are things back home? Are you doing alright?_

_Tell Tifa I'm okay as well, alright?_

_It's lights out soon, so I have to get ready for bed. I'll write again soon._

_Love_

_Cloud_

Folding the paper up and shoving it into an envelope, Cloud threw it in the mail bin before collapsing onto his bed and passing out almost instantly.

It would only get harder from here, but he knew that with Zack pushing him he'd make it.

AN: Word count of 2.5k, slowly but surely increasing the word count. Sorry for the months of wait but as everyone knows, life has priority. I don't know if I should put pairings into this story besides the Zack and Areith. I'll let you guys decide if I should and if I do It'll be Cloud and Tifa. As always read and please review, but most importantly enjoy the story.

I feel I should also explain the way that I think the rank structure works.

SOLDIER is pretty much special forces and as such Third Class is your lower ranking soldiers obviously but not due to skill. A third could be just as strong as Angeal but remain a third simply because he does not have the ability to lead. Thirds will be your enlisted ranks; however, they will not lead teams.

Second class will be your lower ranked officers. They won't necessarily be any stronger than thirds but generally they will be. Seconds will lead small operations of troopers and Thirds in the field.

First Class will be upper echelon like full bird Colonels to Generals and such. It takes both skill and leadership ability to become a First Class. They usually command from a base of operations but can and will hit the field when shit hits the fan.

Third Classes being Drill Sergeants is a prerequisite for becoming a Second. It gives a small amount of experience in leading which Thirds lack and gets them used to giving orders and looking at things on a different level.

Just some info that I think is relevant to the story to understand some things will be coming in later chapters.

Also I never said how long they were doing the push ups for because Cloud never saw the watch, this story is third person limited.


End file.
